2_Miami Dolphins2

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Dolphins Defense
The Miami Dolphins were led by their “bend but don’t break”
defense. Although the unit ranked 21st in yards allowed, they
were ranked 8th in points. Even when the offense struggled at the
end of the year, the defense held strong.
Cameron Wake is the defensive leader and one of the league’s
best pass rushers. He has 46 sacks over the pass four seasons,
including 15 in 2012. His most memorable moment of 2013
came during overtime in week 8. Wake bull rushed through the
Cincinnati Bengals offensive line and sacked QB Andy Dalton in
the end zone for a game-winning, walk-off safety.
Increased attention on Wake has paid dividends for his young
counterpart Olivier Vernon. The second-year defensive end
finished the season with 11.5 sacks in his first season as a starter.
The two defensive ends will be extremely important early in the
season while backup Dion Jordan is suspended for the first four
games of the season.
The Dolphins linebackers had a disappointing season after
the team spent much of their available cap space to upgrade the
unit in 2013. Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler both signed
big contracts but were unable to make a comparable impact on
the field. Defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle hopes that moving
Wheeler to the outside and shifting Koa Misi into the middle
will pay dividends.
Cornerback Brent Grimes signed a one-year contract after
rehabbing a torn achilles tendon, and was rewarded with a fouryear
contract after an exceptional 2013 season. Grimes proved that
he is still one of the best cornerbacks in the league, but he will lead
a secondary full of young and inexperienced talent.
The secondary lost three important contributors from last
season in Chris Clemons, Nolan Carroll and Dimitri Patterson. The
Dolphins brought in veteran Cortland Finnegan to add depth and
compete for playing time.
Jamar Taylor and Will Davis made little impact in their rookie
seasons, but the former second and third round draft picks have
enough raw talent to find their way into the rotation.
Reshad Jones’ performance dropped off from 2012 but he is still
one of the most reliable safeties in the league. He will be in charge
of helping former Detroit Lion Louis Delmas get accustomed to the
system at free safety.
Defensive Player to Watch
Olivier Vernon broke onto the scene with a tremendous
2013 season. The 6-2, 261-pound defensive end is a homegrown
talent that was born in Miami and played college football for the
Miami Hurricanes.
With Vernon on one end and Wake on the other, the Dolphins
are set to terrorize offensive lines for years to come. Their
opponents must
account for them
on every play, and it
will force teams to
keep more tight ends
and running backs
home to pass block.
Vernon is also
a versatile player
along the line.
The Dolphins
occasionally played
him at tackle and
allowed him to
rush the passer from there. This allows the defense to place Dion
Jordan, last year’s number 3 overall pick, on the line alongside
Vernon and Wake.
Dolphins Special Teams
Kicker Caleb Sturgis started his career off strong by going 7 for
7 in the first four games of the season, but he struggled after that.
In the final 12 games he was 19 for 27. Although the Dolphins did
invest a fifth round pick in Sturgis, there is no such thing as a long
leash for an NFL kicker.
Brandon Fields has been the Dolphins punter since 2007 and
he has developed into one of the best in the game. He’s been in
the top five in yards per punt for the last four seasons. He was
named to the Pro Bowl in 2013 after punting 85 times, including a
career-best 74-yarder.
Marcus Thigpen has been a solid kick returner for the
Dolphins the past two years, although Mike Wallace has
expressed interest in returning kickoffs.
Prediction
The Dolphins have a lot of talent but it all needs to come
together. There will be a long list of teams competing for the
second wild card spot, and the Dolphins will be one of them. They
couldn’t handle the pressure last season, but a calmer atmosphere
surrounding the team will alleviate some of that.
SCOREBOARD
2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
PLAYOFF FINISH - - - - -
REGULAR SEASON W-L 8-8 7-9 6-10 7-9 7-9
POINTS PER GAME 19.5 18.0 20.6 17.1 22.5
POINTS ALLOWED PER GAME 20.9 19.8 19.6 20.8 24.4
YARDS PER GAME 312.9 311.5 317.4 323.1 337.6
YARDS ALLOWED PER GAME 359.3 356.8 345.1 309.3 349.3
TURNOVERS 26 24 25 29 28
TAKEAWAYS 24 16 19 19 21
Key Additions:
RB Knowshon Moreno, OT Branden Albert, CB Cortland Finnegan
Key Subtractions:
DT Paul Soliai, S Chris Clemons, CB Nolan Carroll
Rookies:
OL Ja’Wuan James, WR Jarvis Landry, OL Billy Turner
Cameron Wake
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